


Day Ninety-One || New Beginnings

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [91]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-31 23:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18324431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Ask him any time before the end of the war, and Sasuke would have laughed in your face at the idea. But...things change. As do people. And now, Sasuke finds himself with several new beginnings.





	Day Ninety-One || New Beginnings

Uchiha Sasuke has faced his share of trials and tribulations over the short - thus far - course of his lifetime.

Which, consequently, is a massive understatement.

He went from a happy - if not slightly ignored - child of one of Konoha’s greatest clans...to a complete and utter orphan overnight. The next six years were spent training every spare moment to avenge the fallen and take revenge on the one who’d killed them.

But just as he achieved it, he learned that nothing was as it seemed. His goals then changed to take out the true perpetrators of the Uchiha massacre: the councilmen of the village.

When he reached that goal, a war began, and he was forced to reconsider his priorities, as he’d finally gotten the truth from the horse’s mouth: that being his summoned brother.

So Sasuke went through yet another metamorphosis. He joined the allied army, took down their foes...and fully intended to do the same to all of those in power who’d let this travesty fester and grow until it reached the peak that was the fourth shinobi war.

...but, as per usual...Naruto got in his way.

So, for what he hoped would be the last time...Sasuke shifted his goals. Changed his outlook. Modified his plans. Or...in more particular terms...for a while, narrowed them to just one thing:

His family.

Itachi’s revival felt like a gift he didn’t deserve...but of course, it was far more than that. It was a means for the elder brother to make amends for his mistakes, face up to those who manipulated him...and take responsibility for both his brother, and the family he’d unknowingly left behind.

And it wasn’t easy. Many weren’t so quick to forgive either brother for their mistakes. Even though Itachi’s secured village peace for nearly a decade, and Sasuke’s battles - in the end - literally saved their world.

Did they do so perfectly? Oh hell no. And both of them expected as much. But it was something that would dog them for the next two decades...and possibly beyond.

But, in the midst of that...Sasuke found something he’d given up on finding. Sakura’s false expectations for him had all but soured his hope of finding anyone he could - or would - be able to build a future with. Come to love.

Have a family with.

And the person he found it in was the last person anyone expected...and yet, upon further inspection, made perfect sense.

Another child of a so-called ‘royal’ clan, as Sasuke was. One overlooked by her father, as Sasuke was...overshadowed by hatred of a brother, as Sasuke was. One who, once learning the truth, came to give that brother a second chance...just like Sasuke. Whose quiet nature was neither grating, nor unnoticed. Her patience waited out his stubbornness. Her kindness bred understanding of his past, and hope for his future. And never had she tormented him like so many of the others. 

Hyūga Hinata was a perfect blank slate, and both a parallel in some ways...and an attracting opposite in others.

Fate pushed them together in more and more ways until it was undeniable. Sasuke found he couldn’t help but gravitate toward her. Until, eventually, they simply came together, and...well, the rest is history.

Of course...it wasn’t easy. The threats against the Uchiha quickly took root against her, as well. She didn’t shy from it, but it left Sasuke on pins and needles with worry. And parts of him still questioned if he deserved her.

If he was...safe enough for her.

Nightmares still plagued him. And his reflexes - to any but a very select few - could be deadly in the blink of an eye.

And if he worried about hurting Hinata...his paranoia that his deeply-rooted adaptations would come to hurt any children they had meant shying from the notion like a beast from a flame.

He knew - he knew! - he would never... _ could _ never...do so intentionally. But his instability lingered like a shadow just at the edge of his vision.

Hinata was patient, and yet gently encouraging...as were the others. They didn’t rush him, but also did their best to help him see the good in himself. The wonderful, attentive, careful father he could and would be.

Until, finally...he agreed to try. For months he walked on eggshells, waiting to hear when new life would take root within his wife. And then, at the tail end of the year, Itachi’s wife - as always, the attending family medic - confirmed that Hinata was with child.

...he wasn’t sure how to feel. There was fear, and anxiety, and paranoia...but also hope. Wonder. And dare he say...excitement.

But in some ways, it didn’t quite...take hold. It was an intangible concept, then. There was no curve to her middle, no kicking, no heartbeat. Just a fluctuation in hormones.

As she grew - as  _ they _ grew - so did his curiosity and careful observation. Hands would explore her expanding skin, Sharingan seeing the small but growing tinge of chakra within Hinata that was not her own.

But it wasn’t truly tangible until the day they arrived.

Sasuke insisted on remaining outside, but in the end couldn’t refuse Hinata’s pleas for him. Her grip had shocked him, seeing the raw strength in her as she strained to bring their child into the world beyond her womb.

She was a new kind of beautiful to him that day.

Then there was a cry.

He’d gone stock still, pupil dilating at the sound before managing to turn his head. They presented the baby - a boy, they declared - before whisking him off to be cleaned and swaddled.

In the subsequent silence, he’d taken to tending to his wife, murmuring praise and admittance of fear at her might, which earned a tired laugh. Then the babe was brought back, and the family left to bond.

Sasuke held him first.

A fringe of dark hair was short and soft atop his head, and lids managed to part to reveal dark eyes, like his.

He was so...small. So fragile. Especially held in the strongest hands on Earth.

Sasuke stared at his son with his own childlike wonder, not noticing Hinata’s soft smile as she in turn watched him. Every movement was like he was cradling glass - and any chance he got, he didn’t dare to move at all. But then he began to whine, clearly searching for his mother and his first meal.

Ever so gently, he passed the babe along.

“See…? I told you: you’d do just fine.”

Not answering, Sasuke just watched the pair of them adjust. “...a new beginning…”

“One you helped create. And one you’ll help protect.”

“...with everything I’ve got.”

“We all will.” Clearly beginning to doze, Hinata let her eyes close. “...the Uchiha...almost met their end. But now...they’re a clan of beginnings. A new...era…”

“...I like the sound of that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Gotta work on other stuff tonight before bed so here we go!
> 
> In ALAS, Sasuke and Hinata have two kids: Tenkai, their son, and Chikyū, their daughter. But it takes time for Sasuke to feel confident enough in himself and his growth to trust himself with his own children.
> 
> But he'll get there. Sasuke is a GREAT dad...and canon can't tell me otherwise.
> 
> Anywhooo, I gotta run, so...thanks for reading!


End file.
